By being the One Ring RPG dice and being located at Pulp Fiction Comics & Games. These speciality dice for the popular roleplaying game do not get released to the general market until August, but because we know people who know people who know the president (or something like that), we’ve got them three months early. This dice set contains six uniquely designed D6′s and a D10, all with special elven writing.

Maybe the biggest release of the week comes from Pathfinder with the Advanced Race Guide. This new hardcover edition details a plethora of different and varied races for the popular fantasy RPG as well as including a section that allows players to create their own race.

In addition to this release, Pathfinder also shipped the Rise of the Runelords Face Card deck coming with over fifty illustrated cards depicting famous characters from the game. The Skull and Shackles Adventure Path also sees the third of six books released, Tempest Rising, as well as a Poster Map Folio.

Finally, the Lord of the Rings LCG sees its newest adventure pack ship this week. Foundations of Stone contains cards 101-127 of the Dwarrowdelf cycle, each of which is designed to augment your existing deck and advance the narrative.

If you find yourself needing to sprinkle a little Munchkin cheer into the stocking of your special someone, then the new Fairy Dust Dice are your best option. Other than its general glitteriness, this special dice set is sprinkle-worthy for the four exclusive promo cards it contains alongside its two D6′s. And like most other Munchkin expansion stuff, you can combine these cards with the base set, the previous Fairy Deck, or any other Munchkin game you are so inclined to play with. Now that’s some holiday cheer!

If that sounds a bit too effeminate for your grizzled uncle (or aunt; no judgement here), then maybe the new Memoir ’44 Campaign Book Volume 2 will light all the right fires. Picking up where the previous volume left off, volume 2 continues to create scenarios (forty six, in fact) that build off of each other, effecting the game during your next play. Along with the new scenarios the collection also includes 50 punchboard tokens, advanced campaign rules, and new special events that contain information for battles across the Pacific all the way to the frontlines of Germany. So, if you’ve got that wargame loving relative in your clan, put a big smile on their face this season with a new Campaign Book.

Still not dark and grizzled enough for you? Okay, then I’m afraid I’m going to have to pull out the big guns.

That’s right, the new Mansions of Madness: Forbidden Alchemy expansion. Adding on to the Lovecraftian exploration game that’s half-RPG, half-board game, Forbidden Alchemy expands on the dark twisted adventure with loads of new gruesome swag. Included within that heading are not just cards and tokens and things, but all new monster and investigator miniatures. As with the base game, they are beautifully detailed. But don’t let them take away from the over 150 new cards and tokens. That’s new mythos, trauma, and combat cards, folks, along with map tiles, horror tokens, and puzzle pieces. If you’ve survived the slithery, slimy things of the first Mansions of Madness and are ready for round two, Forbidden Alchemy shouldn’t stay forbidden for long.

More of a restock than a new item, but, by golly, it just needs mentioning. From the creator of Dominion (if you don’t know what that is, for shame!), Kingdom Builder brings a similar satisfaction as games like Carcassonne, Samarkand, and Small World, in that it’s a middle skill level game that the whole family can learn and master. Players compete against each other through the strategic building of settlements across a large, hex-filled board. Building adjacent to certain locations (i.e. lakes) gains a player more points. But the rub comes in that building is controlled by sets of cards that players hold in their hands and place on their turn. Each game is different, though, as players select random board pieces and cards at the start of a session. If you’ve played Ticket to Ride or Carcassonne to the breaking point, give Kingdom Builder a try.

Skipping that, here’s some totally sweet, exclusive Munchkin product. Emphasize exclusive there, because Pulp is the only store IN THE COUNTRY to carry these items currently.

The first of these oh-so-special items are two Munchkin Dice Bags. Both bags have a special game rule printed on their sides (“When you take a Munchkin D6 out of [this bag] and roll it, the Munchkin head counts as a 7, not a 1″), in classic Munchkin style. One is pink, one is tan; the tan one also comes with the benefit of two promo cards, Blind Chance and Bag of Hoarding. The second Munchkin goodie is this year’s Christmas booster pack, Reindeer Games. Like the previous Christmas booster expansions, this one includes 15 new cards to be played with the base Munchkin game. And we have it waaaaay before anyone else.

Another member of the exclusive Pulp Fiction VIP super club of awesome (named it myself), the Steve JacksonZombie Dice Dice Bag. Carry the most addictive dice game known to man in style with this matching dice bag.

Another two-fer shout out, this time from Dungeons & Dragons, Heroes of the Feywild and the Dragon Miniature Collector’s Set. The first has a unicorn on the cover.

Oh, you needed to know more? What more could you want to know? Okay, okay, the Feywild is a wonderous, luminous setting that suits happy-go-lucky gamers who desire less doom and gloom in their campaigns. This hardcover entails every detail DMs and players will need to know about character creation (races, classes, powers, feats, etc.) as well as numerous details about the inhabitants of the world.

And if horned ponies ain’t your thing, turn your gaze to the Dragon Miniature Collector’s Set. As the D&D Miniature series has been discontinued, the only way to grab hold of any miniature offerings these days is with a collection such as this. As the title declares, this set comes packed with five of the famous dragon colors (green, blue, red, white, black) and their coordinating stat cards.

The Necrons have risen from their slumber. You’ve been waiting for it, bidding your time with Space Marines and Imperial Guard, counting the seconds. Well, wait no more. Tomorrow the new Necron miniatures are here. That means the Codex, the Necron Warriors, the Necron Immortals, the Doomsday Ark/Ghost Ark, C’tan Shard of the Nightbringer and C’tan Shard of the Deceiver, plus a whole Monolith more. They’ve got a new look, a new rule set, and a new bag.

Stare at you own peril.

Seriously, dangerous.

Another of Terry Pratchett‘s beloved stories has been transferred to the world of the board game. This time around it’s Discworld: Ankh-Morpork. Players battle over control of the titled city, minus its former ruler, Lord Vetinari. No one knows what the other players are attempting to do to win, so everything is in chaos as players slap down cards to decide where their minions are placed and where buildings are erected. Cards and characters are pulled directly from Pratchett‘s popular series of humorous novels, so fans of the series will surely get some joy out of the cameos and references.

Gambling?

I’m in!

As is the new Red Dragon Inn expansion of the same name (Gambling? I’m In!). Famous for its adaptability as a drinking game, Red Dragon Inn can now become even more scandalous with the nine different mini-games included in this expansion. All nine games can be played stand-alone, if desired, or combined with the base game to replace the Rounds of Gambling. The box also includes all the Rogues and Warriors cards that will be required to play these games of chance.

Show of hands, who wants to be a zombie? Okay, there’s one…uh, two…all right, just two. What if I stipulated that you’re not becoming a zombie in real life, just a card game? And there go the hands.

Yes, the Resident Evil Deck Building Game now comes with more zombifying power thanks to the new Outbreak expansion. Unlike the last expansion, Alliance, Outbreak follows in Dominion‘s footsteps again by making this expansion a traditional one, i.e. you will need one of the base sets to use it. As usual, this edition includes a cadre of new zombie fighters, including Kevin Ryman and Mark Wilkins, as well as new weapons, like the stun rod and samurai edge. Primarily, though, what Outbreak adds is a new Infection play mode. Basic rules apply, but above the mansion deck sits an infection deck that everyone plays out of in an effort to control their infection level. If any player rises to 10 infection cards, they become an undead zombie and can attack other players.

How many hands now?

With deck building fresh in the brain pan, how about we look at a the release of the revised version of Arcana. From Fantasy Flight, Arcana is a card based game where players manage and utilize guilds of thieves to gain control of the city of Cadwallon. If you’ve played City of Thieves, this might sound like a similar premise and that’s because the two games are similar in many characters and options, but different in mechanics. One thing that is different here is that the playable guilds are trying to rest power from the citizens of Cadwallon, not treasure. Everyone vies for stake cards by scraping up and using, resourcefully, location cards, relic cards, and others. If you’ve played the original version of the game and are curious what this one adds and updates, basically, the cards and materials are all redesigned along with a ton of rules alterations and added play modes.

Never before have I thought that I would receive the opportunity to type in vampire pirate speak. Thankfully, Games Workshop has given me the chance with its publication of Dreadfleet. Arrhhggg, matey, I want to suck ye blood. That just feels right, doesn’t it? The reason that I’m able to enact one of my dreams by typing that is because Dreadfleet is all about vampire pirates. Two players command opposing fleets of ships facing off over a five foot by three and a half foot board, strategically maneuvering their vessels against each other. Each ship has a coordinating card with all its stats and as well as an extremely detailed model to go along with it. The game also comes with a number of obstacles models to place on the board. If Dreadfleet turns out anything like the last stand-alone boardgame Games Workshop released, Space Hulk, it will disappear from shelves overnight and increase in value at the drop of a hat.

Can you guess this game’s title with this one clue: the state I, generally, live my life in? If you guessed Confusion, you would be correct. Actually, the real title is Confusion: Espionage and Deception in the Cold War, but, come on, who would ever guess that? Unlike your common Cold War game (is there really such a thing?) Confusion begins with both players having no idea how their pieces move. Over the course of the game, through trial and error, they attempt to learn each piece’s abilities. Concurrently, they are also attempting to acquire a special token in the center of the board and escape with it across your opponent’s border. A classic game reprinted, Confusion is a blend of chess, Clue, and Code 777.

Last time I checked, this is America. And in America we like our bowls super, our macs big, and our dice jumbo. To that effect, Steve Jackson has released a line of Jumbo D6s for Munchkin. Coming in a variety of colors (orange, red, green, blue, yellow, and purple), each package includes a Munchkin D6 and a Monster D6, both with different artwork next to each number. America also likes to get stuff for buying other stuff. That is why all of these dice come with two unique treasure cards, one for Munchkin and one for Munchkin Quest. Now that’s ‘Merica for you!

This town ain’t big enough for the both of us, pardner. That one sentence perfectly describes the game Deadwood. Welp, guess that does it for me, folks. Okay, a little bit more. Deadwood embodies that age-old adage by having players compete over various buildings that comprise the titled town. Each player receives a group of three types of cowboys to do this with, each with their own powers. Along with that, each building enacts certain game changing abilities, some times when they are initially played and, other times, after they have sat on the board awhile. Get your Al Swearengen on and pick up Deadwood.

Let’s lower the temperature a bit so that Ice Dice from Looney Labs feels comfortable. But wait, simply by bringing it into the conversation brings up the temperature in the room. That’s ’cause it’s sexy. The reason for that bold statement is that this is an easily portable, easily learned, easily played game using the same translucent pyramid pieces that Looney Labs used for Treetop. Gamers roll a die to see which size and color pyramid they nab from the center bank in an effort to score three matching sets. If that exact pyramid is gone, steal it from an opponent. More sexiness? How about the ability to play another, completely different game called Launchpad 23? Did it!

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